MALAWI ELECTORAL COMMISSION DECLARATION OF RESULTS FOR BYE-ELECTIONS

MALAWI ELECTORAL COMMISSION DECLARATION OF RESULTS FOR:
 Zomba Chisi Constituency
 Mtope Ward in Mchinji West Constituency and
 Ngala Ward in Lilongwe Msozi North Constituency
23rd December, 2015, Blantyre

 My fellow Commissioners,
 The Chief Elections Officer, Mr Willie Kalonga and your deputy
 All candidates, representatives of various political parties and candidates
 Representatives of various Civil Society Organisations
 Management and staff from MEC secretariat
 Members of the press
 Ladies and gentlemen;
I welcome you all to this function today where the Commission will announce the official results following the by-elections that were held yesterday, Tuesday, December 22, 2015.

The Commission met earlier today to determine the results. However, before I announce the results of the Commission, allow me to give an overview of the journey we have travelled to reach this far.
Vacancies
The vacancy in Zomba Chisi Constituency arose because of the death of Hon. Peter Chizalo Mangulenje on September 23, 2015. In the same way in Mtope Ward, the vacancy arose following the death of Mr John Msumatiza on July 26, 2015, who was councillor for the ward.

However, Ngala Ward in Lilongwe Msozi North Constituency fell vacant because the holder, Mr Misheck Khomba, resigned on personal grounds on September 8, 2015. This is the first time a
vacancy has risen because of resignation.

Pursuant to section 32(2) of the Parliamentary and Presidential Elections Act and Section 23(2) of the Local Government Elections Act, the Commission had to conduct by-elections to fill the
vacancies.
Preparation for by-elections
This is the third by-elections held after the 20 May, 2014 Tripartite Elections. We launched the by-elections on 21st November in all the three areas. Then followed with registration and voter verification from 26th to 30th November 2015.

During this period from the three by electoral areas, the Commission registered 2,368 (1,115 men and 1,253 women) first-time voters bringing the total number of registered voters to 67,557 from 65,189
registered in 2014.

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, the Commission received 10 nomination papers on 1st December 2015 through the Returning Officers. There were six candidates in Zomba Chisi Constituency and two candidates in each of the two wards of Mtope and Ngala.

At its meeting held on 3 December 2015 the Commission approved  all the candidates to contest.
Out of the 10 candidates who presented nomination papers, only 2 were women representing 20 per cent. One woman contested in Zomba Chisi and the other in Ngala Ward. Mtope Ward had no
female contestant. If compared to the last by-elections on August 25 this year, the current situation is retrogressive.

Out of the 29 candidates who contested on August 25, a total of 8 were women representing 28 per cent.

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, this is of concern not only to the Commission but to the nation as well. In the Commission we promote the 50 – 50 campaign in one way or the other. Activists are
pushing for the same.

The Government is advocating for increased number of women.

The irony, however, is that the women themselves are not coming forward to present themselves for candidature. We call on political parties to come up with deliberate policies and measures to enable
as many women as possible to contest.

Women should also make themselves available to be elected.
Appreciation of stakeholders
 MEC wishes to extend its appreciation to the Ministry of Finance for releasing money to conduct the by-elections.
 We continue to commend the National Initiative for Civic Education (NICE) for its continued support in public mobilisation whenever there is a by-election.
 We appreciate the faith-based organizations and religious leaders who helped in voter education by reading to their
congregations the letters we were sending through them with various voter information.
 Some more appreciation should go to the Traditional leaders because they mobilized their subjects when we went to hold voter education meetings in their areas.

 We continue to appreciate the Malawi Police Service for providing security from the start up to the end today.
 The media for sensitizing the public on these by-elections and publishing correct information on the by elections.
 District Commissioners, Chief Executives of councils and members of District Election Supervisory Committees who managed the elections on the ground.
 A fitting word of high and hearty commendation to my fellow Commissioners and the MEC secretariat staff for their dedication, professionalism, commitment and selflessness in
managing the electoral process so well – To you I say well done!! Keep it up!
 Finally I should also express sincere gratitude and appreciation to all registered voters and Malawians at large for the manifestation of tolerance, peace, trust and spirit of cooperation in their conduct, during the electoral period.
I should also in a special way thank all those that turned up for voting.
Declaration of Results
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the moment that we have been waiting for. I will now proceed to declare the results.

Voting in the by-elections took place on Tuesday, December 22, 2015 from 6 AM to 6 PM in 37 centres. We monitored the process and we have come to the conclusion that the conduct of the elections satisfied the tenets of a credible poll and the Commission declares it such.
The Commission has, therefore, determined the results as follows:-
 Mtope Ward, Mchinji West Constituency
Mtope Ward had two candidates. With a total of 26,433 registered voters, 4,569 registered voters turned up for polling.
This represents 17.29% voter turnout. There were 54 null and void votes.
This represents 1.18%.
The results of the voting are as follows:
1. Auleriano Kalemba (male)- Malawi Congress Party (MCP)
2,444 votes
2. Benedicto Tsele (male) - Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)
2,071 votes

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, on behalf of the Commission I, Justice Maxon Raphael Mbendera, SC now declare Auleriano Kalemba who contested as Malawi Congress Party candidate the winner in the Mtope Ward by-election.
 Ngala Ward, Lilongwe Msozi North Constituency
Ngala Ward had two candidates. With a total of 15,330 registered voters, 2,128 voters turned out for polling.
This represents 13.88% voter turnout. There were 30 null and void votes.
This represents 1.41% %.
 The results of the voting are as follows:
1. Master Rodgers Chazama (male) - MCP 1,381votes
2. Regina Sululu (female) - DPP 717 votes
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, on behalf of the Commission I, Justice Maxon Raphael Mbendera, SC now declare Master Rodgers Chazama who contested as Malawi Congress Party candidate the winner in the Ngala Ward by-election.
 Zomba Chisi Constituency
Zomba Chisi had six candidates. With a total of 25,794 registered voters, 9,429 registered voters turned out for polling.
This represents 36.56% voter turnout. There were 135 null and void votes.
This represents 1.43%. The results of the voting are as follows:
1. Mark Michael Botomani (male)- DPP 3,019 votes
2. Stephen Alexious Chikwapula (male) - Independent 107 votes
3. Dyson R. Chimwala, (male) - Independent 2,792 votes
4. Asma W. Mponda (male) - People's Party 950 votes
5. Brazio Namakhuwa (male) - MCP 208 votes
6. Felistas Mpando Sumani, (female) - Independent 2,218 votes
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, on behalf of the Commission I, Justice Maxon Raphael Mbendera, SC now declare Mark Michael Botomani who contested as Democratic Progressive Party
candidate the winner in the Zomba Chisi by-election.
In all the three areas we had 67,557 registered voters. A total of 16,126 voters turned up for polling representing voter turnout of 23.87 percent.
The highest percentage voter turnout was 36.56 registered in Zomba Chisi Constituency while the lowest was 13.88 in Ngala Ward.
The voter turnout this time around is less satisfactory if compared to the turn out in the by-elections held on August 25 this year. During the August 25 by-elections, held in five wards, the
average voter turnout was 25.87 percent.
Our Observations and concerns
 The low voter turnout trend is of concern to the Commission. I stated last time that there was need for a thorough research to look into the structural causes and we still push for this.
We need to go to the electorate and hear what makes them not to show up in good numbers for polling as they do during campaign rallies.
 The number of political parties contesting in by-elections is dwindling. We have over 50 registered parties but only three contested in these by-elections. During the Tripartite Elections only 19 elections participated.
During the October 8, 2014 by-elections 5 political parties participated. During the August 25, 2015 by-elections seven political parties contested.
Now the number of parties contesting is at 3. This is raising questions that;
if a party cannot contest in the national elections, cannot take
part in by-elections, what elections will they participate in? Do
we still need their existence in the political parties register or we
should find a formula of deregistering such parties so that we
remain with the active ones? There is a debate around this and
I hope the scenario here will also contribute to the conclusion
of the said discussion.
 We have also noted reduced competition in Local Government By-elections. In the August by-elections that took place in five wards, four of the wards had six candidates while one had five candidates.
But this time around both wards have two candidates each. This raises questions as to whether we
are still valuing the position of councillors or not.
We nearly had uncontested election.
 We have also noted silence from the women empowerment advocates. During the Tripartite Elections there were so many  stakeholders rising up to give moral, technical and material support and encouraging women to contest in elections.
We have noted no firm action from the activists to support women  participation.
MEC adopted the cycle approach to elections management and we expect all the stakeholders to follow suit.
They should not be active during national elections and then go under like submarines.
 The by-elections offer an opportunity for the activists to concentrate their efforts and encourage women to participate in elections.
 There are many civil society groups that were accredited to help with voter education. However, many are not seen to be active during by-elections.
We urge them to continue using their accreditation during by-elections. They should also adopt the electoral cycle approach. The same message should be extended to the Development Partners who provide support to the CSOs. Some CSOs want to implement activities during the in-between the ballot period but it is difficult for them to get the funding.
Conclusion
On behalf of the Commission, I congratulate the winners and wish them well. I urge all political parties and candidates to accept the outcome of the election as the expression, reflection and
representation of the will of the people.

I encourage any party or candidate wishing to challenge the election results to do so in accordance with the Laws of the Republic of Malawi.

I also thank everyone present here for coming to witness this ceremony. Your presence is not taken for granted. It is highly regarded.
May God Bless you All.
May God bless Mother Malawi.
I thank you for your attention.

Made this 23rd day of December 2015 at Blantyre
_________________________________________
Justice Maxon Raphael Mbendera, SC
CHAIRMAN

STATEMENT BY MINISTER OF JUSTICE AND CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS ON ARRESTS CONCERNING HOMOSEXUAL ACTS

This statement is issued in response to the recent news in the print and electronic media alleging that the Police had arrested 19 year old Curthbert Kulemera and 33 year old Kelvin Gonani on 7th December on suspicion that they engaged in homosexual acts.

The Ministry of Justice wishes to reiterate Government’s commitment to the observance of human rights,   as   enshrined   in   our   Constitution.     The   Constitution   of   Malawi represents the collective wisdom and values of the people of Malawi.   The Constitution, being the basic law, provides the framework that guides the proper implementation of the aspirations of the people of Malawi through the various statutory laws that Parliament enacts.

Malawi as a member of the   international   community   is   also committed   to   adhere   to   universally accepted human rights standards. The   Government, therefore, acknowledges   the view   expressed by International Human Rights bodies that the inclusion of offences prohibiting homosexuality on our statute books within our legislation may be at variance with the views held by such bodies. Consequently, the Government has committed itself to review the penal laws on homosexuality under the Penal Code, but this has to be done in consultation with the people of Malawi as prescribed by the Constitution. This position was clearly stated by Government before the United Nations and African Union treaty bodies.

Further in line with this commitment, Government has imposed a moratorium on arrests and prosecution of consensual homosexual acts.   Government has also consistently invited civil society to carry out intensive sensitization campaigns on gay rights, as the concept is alien to Malawian culture, since the previous two attempts by to change the law met with stiff resistance from the general public.

Government has noted the concerns raised by interested parties and international bodies regarding the arrest of the two men. Government wishes to assure those concerned that the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs has carried out investigations into the arrest of the two men. The findings of these investigations do not disclose a case of two consenting male adults indulging in consensual sex, hence the Police’s diligence to require medical examination in order to establish the truth. The Ministry has not detected any prejudice or malice on the part of the conduct of the Police.

Further, Government wishes to emphasize that the circumstances of this case required the state to provide protective custody to both the alleged victim and suspect. It is important, therefore, that due process had to be allowed to take its course and the expectation was that all interested parties would desist from making pronouncements   that   are   either   unduly   conclusive   or   would,   effectively,   jeopardize the proper conclusion of the matter.

In its efforts to review the law for compliance with the Constitution and Malawi’s international obligations, Government will immediately engage its agencies, namely the Law Commission and the Malawi Human Rights Commission so that all the cultural sensitivities regarding this issue are properly addressed. As this process is being undertaken, Government is appealing to all those concerned especially the international community to fully appreciate that this is a highly sensitive matter that requires understanding and accommodation of diverse views before it is fully resolved.

Meanwhile, as Government is addressing the specific incident that occurred in Lilongwe, it has noted with concern that comments coming from some commentators from both within and without show lack of appreciation and respect of Malawi’s culture and traditions as well as the challenges which Government is facing in resolving this issue. While Government welcomes an open discussion of the issue by all concerned, the use of inflammatory and derogatory language being made by some of those contributing to the discussion is counter-productive and serves only to divert proper focus on the issue at hand.

Finally, Government is re-affirming its commitment to observe the moratorium. In light of this commitment the two gentlemen have been released from custody and the charges dropped.

Samuel Tembenu

Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs